Corrs
Pre 1990 The Corrs' parents are Gerry Corr, a manager of the payroll department of the Irish Electricity Supply Board, and his wife, Jean, a homemaker, who died in 1999 while waiting for a lung transplant. They raised their family in Dundalk, Ireland. Gerry and Jean performed together as a band called Sound Affair, and often brought their children to their performances, where they played songs by ABBA and the Eagles in local pubs. With the encouragement of their parents, Jim took guitar lessons, Sharon played the violin, Caroline studied the drums, and Andrea took up the tin whistle. They were also taught the piano by their father. Throughout their teenage years, the children would practice in Jim's bedroom at a rented house. Andrea sang lead vocals, Sharon played the violin, and Caroline and Jim played the keyboards. 1990 - 1995 1990 While Caroline and Andrea were still attending school, Jim and Sharon began playing as a duo, often at their aunt's pub, McManus's. Jim and Sharon added their younger siblings to their existing duo, to form a quartet. 1991 Their career took off when they auditioned for the film The Commitments. Jim, Sharon, and Caroline each had small parts as musicians, while Andrea had a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte. John Hughes noticed them when they auditioned for the movie, and agreed to become their manager. 1992 1993 1994 The American ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith, invited them to perform at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Boston after seeing them play a gig at Whealans Music Bar in Dublin. 1995 SEP 26 The Corrs debut album Forgiven, Not Forgotten is released 1996 After an appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, The Corrs joined Celine Dion's worldwide Falling into You Tour as a supporting act. Jason Flom, Atlantic Records' vice director and producer, recommended that they meet with David Foster, a Canadian musician, producer, composer and arranger. The Corrs played live for Foster and he agreed to sign them to Atlantic Records. They extended their stay in the US for over five months to record their debut album, Forgiven, Not Forgotten. Forgiven, Not Forgotten featured six instrumental selections among its Celtic-influenced tracks. The album sold well in Ireland, Australia, Japan, Norway and Spain. Major success in the US and the UK, however, was not immediately forthcoming. Eventually, the album reached platinum status in the UK and Australia, and quadruple platinum in Ireland, making it one of the most successful debuts by an Irish group. 1997 FEB 25 The Corrs - Live is released OCT 28 The Corrs' next album, Talk On Corners, is released. The album met with lukewarm responses and was only successful in Ireland. 1998 The Corrs performed a special remixed version of the tracks from their first two albums in a televised St. Patrick's Day appearance at London's Royal Albert Hall. After the performance, the band re-released Talk on Corners, with new remixes of "What Can I Do?", "So Young" and "Runaway". The special edition topped the charts worldwide, and again reached multi-platinum status in the UK and Australia. JUNE '''The Corrs participated in the Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Liberia charity concert. The concert was held in Modena, Italy and was hosted by Luciano Pavarotti. Other performers included Jon Bon Jovi, Céline Dion, Spice Girls and Stevie Wonder. The concert aimed to raise money to build the Pavarotti and Friends Liberian Children's Village, to provide refuge for children in Liberia. 1999 The Corrs received a BRIT Award for Best International Band. '''JUNE 14 The DVD is released OCT 5 They performed live on MTV's Unplugged at Ardmore Studios, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. NOV 12 The Corrs Unplugged is released. The resulting CD and DVD sold 2.7 million copies and featured live performances of previously released songs, plus a new song, "Radio", later featured on their third album, In Blue. 2000 FEB 28 The DVD The Corrs Unplugged is released JULY 7 Sharon married Gavin Bonnar, a Belfast barrister. Since then, they have had two children, Cathal Robert Gerard and Flori Jean Elizabeth SEP 12 The Corrs third album, In Blue is released. In Blue hit number one in its first sales week in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria and debuted at #2 in France and Norway. It climbed to the top spot during its second week in Sweden and Spain. The album went straight to number one in the Irish Albums Chart, the third highest single-week sales in the history of the charts, behind U2’s The Best of 1980-1990 and Oasis' Be Here Now. In Blue achieved platinum sales in the US, double platinum in the UK, and quadruple platinum in Australia. During the production of the album, the Corrs' mother, Jean, died while waiting for a lung transplant. She was laid to rest at St. Patrick's cemetery in Dundalk, and Bono, Larry Mullen, Brian Kennedy and Paul Brady were among the congregation at the funeral. The Corrs worked with Alejandro Sanz on In Blue, recording "Una Noche (One Night)", a duet between Sanz and Andrea Corr; Sanz played Andrea's love interest in the music video. In return, The Corrs performed "Me Iré (The Hardest Day)" with him on his album, El Alma Al Aire. NOV 27 The DVD is released The Corrs collaborated with Robert Lange to produce a mainstream hit single, "Breathless", which reached number 34 in the Billboard Hot 100, number seven in Australia, number three in Ireland and New Zealand, and topped the charts in the UK. 2001 The Corrs' mother, Jean, died in Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, England. The Corrs showed their appreciation to the hospital by performing a one-off charity concert, held in 2001 at the Telewest Arena; it raised more than £100,000 NOV 5 The Corrs released their first compilation album, Best of The Corrs. The album featured previously released songs and new tracks, such as the singles "Would You Be Happier", "Make You Mine" and "Lifting Me". The album did not chart highly in Ireland but reached platinum status in Australia. 5 The DVD is released The Corrs collaborated with Josh Groban, recording Canto Alla Vita, for his eponymous debut album. When the band returned to Ireland, they hosted another live concert at Ardmore Studios, where they previously performed for the MTV's Unplugged series. Guest performers included Bono from U2 and Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones. During the concert, Bono joined Andrea Corr for a duet of Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine" and a performance of Ryan Adams' "When the Stars Go Blue". Ronnie Wood joined the band onstage to play guitar on their version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" and the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday". These performances were recorded and compiled on a live album, VH1 Presents: The Corrs, Live in Dublin, which was released in the UK. 2002 MAR 12 The live album, VH1 Presents: The Corrs, Live in Dublin AUG 22 Caroline married Frank Woods, a property developer in Majorca, Spain. They now have three children, Jake, Georgina and Rihann DEC 2 The DVD Best of Corrs is released 2003 Andrea Corr recorded "Time Enough For Tears", written by Bono and Gavin Friday for the film In America. NOV 29 They are ambassadors for the Nelson Mandela's "46664" campaign, where they performed live to raise awareness towards AIDS in Africa. The concert was held on this day in Cape Town, South Africa. The concert aimed to "raise awareness of HIV in South Africa and launched the 46664 campaign" and the money raised was donated to the Nelson Mandela Foundation for Aids 2004 MAY 31 The Corrs' album, Borrowed Heaven ''is released. Recorded over an 18-month period in Dublin and Los Angeles, Borrowed Heaven was produced by Olle Romo, who previously worked with Melanie C and Kelly Clarkson. The album was not as successful as their predecessors, but at least successfully enough to enter at No.2 in both the UK and Germany and reach silver status in the UK as well as gold in Germany. Jason Duffy temporarily joined the band as drummer, filling in for Caroline while she was pregnant with her second child and unable to tour. The Corrs' played at a charity concert for The Prince's Trust, a UK-based charity that provides help, training, financial, and practical support to UK citizens aged between 14 and 30. They performed with Will Young, Blue, Avril Lavigne, Lenny Kravitz, Busted, Anastacia, Nelly Furtado, Sugababes and Natasha Bedingfield and raised more than £1 million 2005 '''JULY' 2 During the Edinburgh Live 8, the Corrs performed "When the Stars Go Blue" alongside Bono to promote the Make Poverty History campaign SEP 26 The band release their album Home. The songs on Home spanned the history of Irish music. It also included two songs in Irish, "Bríd Óg Ní Mháille (Bridget O'Malley)" and "Buachaill Ón Éirne (Boy from Lough Erne)". Home had success in Ireland, France (reaching #5) and Germany (reaching #12) and was certified silver in the UK. In recognition of their charity work, the Corrs were made honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II NOV 14 The DVD is released 2006 - 2009 2006 The Corrs went on hiatus. Sharon, Jim, and Caroline are raising their own families while Andrea pursues a solo career. Jim's child, Brandon, is born to Gayle Williamson, who is now his ex-fiancé and a former Miss Northern Ireland. NOV 20 The Corrs released their second compilation album, Dreams: The Ultimate Corrs Collection. The album charted poorly, reaching number 24 in Ireland. 2007 JUNE 25 Andrea released her first solo album, Ten Feet High. It was produced by Nellee Hooper, who has worked with Gwen Stefani and Madonna; Bono was an executive producer. The first single released from the album was "Shame on You (to Keep My Love from Me)". SEP 25 The Corrs released another compilation album, The Works. The album consists of three CDs that feature previously released songs. It performed worse than its predecessor, failing to chart at all. 2008 2009 Sharon is pursuing a solo career, AUG 29 Her single "It's Not A Dream" is released